[SKOA Premiere] Breanne Düren - "No One Else (Tokyo Police Club Remix)"

 

You may recognize Breanne Düren's tender but powerful backing vocals from when she graced Owl City's albums with tracks like "The Saltwater Room" and "Honey and the Bee" before heading out on tour to do additional background vocals with him. Düren, who had only been playing local gigs while in school at the University of Minnesota before she met Adam Young (Owl City) quickly realized while she was on tour with Young that she was born to have a career in music:

“I went from playing these low-key local gigs with a drummer and a bass player to playing electro pop songs onstage to thousands of people. It just made me feel like, ah, ok, I need to do this. This is what I’m supposed to do. I can’t do anything else and I don’t want to.”

With songs like "No One Else" from her debut EP Sparks, we certainly don't think she'll need to get a day job any time soon. The song is stripped down to basic percussion with little pop glimmers here and there, all the while carried by Düren's voice. Today we bring you the first listen of a remix of the pop-esque tune from the likes of Tokyo Police Club, who have added a playful dancy spin on the track.

Breanne Düren - No One Else (Tokyo Police Club Remix) by Some Kind of Awesome

[Listen] Tokyo Police Club - "Kim & Jessie" Feat. Jamie Jackson (M83 Cover)

Another cover from Tokyo Police Club for their covers project and this time it's a cover of M83 and their track "Kim & Jessie" with a little help from Jamie Jackson. As well as giving that a stream below courtesy of our friends over at One Thirty BPM the band have announced a digital and commemorative packaging for their cover songs. You'll be able to wrap your eyes and ears around them from October 4th both on iTunes and over on their official website. 

Kim & Jessie (Featuring Jamie Jackson of Hot As Sun) by TokyoPoliceClub

[Listen] Tokyo Police Club - "All My Friends" (LCD Soundsystem Cover) x "Long Distance Call" (Phoenix Cover)

Tokyo Police Club continue with their covers project and yesterday uploaded not one, but two new covers. First up they offered a rendition of Phoenix's "Long Distance Call" with a little help from Ray Suen of Mariachi El Bronx. Then the Ontario based band when a step further and decided to take on LCD Soundsystem's "All My Friends". Covering LCD is always going to be a tricky one but they give it a damn good go and the results are entertaining none the less. Check out both of the track for yourselves below. Two tracks in one day is never something to frown upon. It was only last week that we got to hear them cover The Strokes and Kelly Clarkson. Give it a few days and the project shall continue to flourish no doubt.

Long Distance Call (Featuring Ray Suen of Mariachi El Bronx) by TokyoPoliceClub

All My Friends by TokyoPoliceClub

[Listen] Tokyo Police Club - "Under Control" (Strokes Cover) x "Since U Been Gone" (Kelly Clarkson Cover)

Take a listen to 2 more tracks from Tokyo Police Club x Poloroid's Ten Songs. Ten Hours. Ten Days. Ten Years. Project, which has the band covering The Strokes' 2003 track "Under Control" and 2004's pop hit from Kelly Clarkson "Since U Been Gone". Peep both tracks in the player below and make sure you stay tuned as the band releases a new track each day. You can check out the release schedule and list of sites that will premiere each song after the jump or keep in touch with their facebook page (facebook.com/tokyopoliceclub) as they will be documenting and posting their progress each day.

Under Control by TokyoPoliceClub

Since U Been Gone by TokyoPoliceClub

Cover Release Schedule

August 24 - “2001” - EntertainmentWeekly.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
August 25 - “2002” - AlternativePress.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
August 26 - “2003” - AlternativePress.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
August 27 - “2004” - Spinner.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
August 29 - “2005” - Mashable.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
August 30 - “2006” - AVClub.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
August 31 - “2007” - AVClub.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
September 1 - “2008” - FliterMagazine.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
September 2 - “2009” - FilterMagazine.com - 1pm EST/10am PST
September 3 - “2010” - ARTISTdirect.com - 1pm EST/10am PST

[Listen] Tokyo Police Club x Passion Pit - "Sweetness" (Jimmy Eat World Cover)

Yesterday, Tokyo Police Club announced their 10 Days, 10 Covers, 10 Years project, and, with the help of M83's Morgan Kibby, released their cover of Moby and Gwen Stefani's "Southside." Today, the band's second cover was released, and this time around the Ontario indie rockers chose Jimmy Eat World's "Sweetness." With Passion Pit frontman Michael Angelakos providing back up vocals, the band took Jimmy Eat World's 2001 hit and gave it a new twist, all the while keeping the original sound intact. You can listen to the track below, and check back tomorrow for the next installment.

Sweetness (Featuring Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit) by TokyoPoliceClub 

[Listen] Tokyo Police Club x M83′s Morgan Kibby - "Southside" (Moby Cover)

Over the next ten days, Canadian indie rockers Tokyo Police Club will be embarking on what they call 10 Songs, 10 Days, 10 Hours, 10 Years, in which every day for the next ten days, the band will cover ten different songs, spanning, you guessed it, ten years. The first cover the band has released, courtesy of OneThirtyBPM, is of Moby and Gwen Stefani's "Southside," from Moby's 1999 album Play. The track, which you can listen to below, sees M83's Morgan Kibby taking on Gwen Stefani's role. Enjoy the first of Tokoy Police Club's ten covers, and we will keep you posted on the remaining nine.

[Listen] Arkells - "Whistleblower"

Back in 2008, Canadian indie rock band Arkells released their debut LP Jackson Square, and now, after a few years of touring alongside bands like Tokyo Police Club, they're finally back in the studio working on their second studio album. Today, the band released the first single, titled "Whistleblower," from their currently untitled second LP. You can check out the single below, and head to the Arkells SoundCloud page to give a few of their older tracks a listen.

Whistleblower by unimusicC

[Interview] Said the Whale's Tyler Bancroft Talks About Touring With Tokyo Police Club, the Juno Awards, and Food

Photo by Jonathan Taggart

Vancouver indie rockers Said the Whale are quickly becoming a well-known presence in the Canadian music scene. The band, which was formed back in 2007, has released two studio albums, toured throughout Canada and the U.S., and even won this year's Juno Award for New Group of the Year.

Over the past month, the band has been on the road with fellow indie rockers Tokyo Police Club and Dinosaur Bones, touring across five provinces in the great nation of Canada. Last night, I had a chance to chat with Said the Whale frontman Tyler Bancroft about everything from the creation of the band, to touring, to the Juno Awards, to the delights of food. You can check out the full interview below.

Some Kind of Awesome: So, Said the Whale was started by both you and Ben [Worcester]. Why did you two decide to form the band? And how did everyone else become involved?

Tyler Bancroft: After high school I tried the university thing, but that wasn't working out [laughs], so Ben and I started playing music together. We actually started out acoustically, doing basement recordings, and eventually it became a five-piece. The drummer, [Spencer Shoening], we knew from high school, and we've also got a new bass player, [Nathan Shaw], so hopefully he'll be with us for a while.

Some Kind of Awesome: Growing up in Vancouver, how has this city influenced you and your music?

TB: Everything, it's influenced everything. Me and Ben are heavily influenced by geography, the city is basically our muse. Our first record, [Taking Abalonia/Howe Sounds], took a lot of influence from Vancouver and the West Coast. The cool thing about touring, though, is that your music becomes influenced by the places you see. Not to sound typical or anything, but our latest record, [Islands Disappear], was influenced a lot by being on the road and touring across Canada.

Some Kind of Awesome: Your first album, Taking Abalonia, was re-released in 2008 as Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia. Why did you decide to re-release the album? And how do Howe Sounds and Taking Abalonia compare?

TB: We re-released Taking Abalonia because it didn't have the distribution the first time around. It was our chance to give the album a commercial release. [Taking Abalonia and Howe Sounds] are actually really similar, they were recorded 8 months apart, so I think it just made sense to release them together. [Laughs] I don't really think about the past too often, I tend to think more about the future.

Some Kind of Awesome: What was it like recording your second album, Islands Disappear, and what inspired those songs?

TB: With the second album, we had a little more money and a little more time. We were still working with Tom Dobrzanski, the producer from our first album, but we also had Howard Redekopp (The New Pornographers, Mother Mother) come in to tag team the production. Driving across Canada influenced the album a lot, but it was never an intentional ode to Canada. We would just write whatever came naturally.

Some Kind of Awesome: Last November, you were in CKPK-FM's Peak Performance Project. You won second place, as well as $75,000. What did you do with the money? New record in the works?

TB: Yeah, that was a really fun experience. The $75,000 was actually put into an account that could only be used for career related stuff. We've have a new record in the works, about 10 songs written, and we've got studio time booked for July. We're planning on releasing an EP in the Fall, and then a full release in early 2012. I find with a lot of bands, and ourselves, you just have to keep the ball rolling.

Some Kind of Awesome: You were recently at this year's Juno Awards, what was it like winning the award for New Group of the Year?

TB: It's a bizarre feeling [laughs]. I've always watched the Junos, even when I was a kid, I would watch it with my parents. It's like the Canadian Grammys [laughs]. It's just a bizarre thing, but it is amazing to be recognized. Not to say we're better than everyone else, but it's just awesome that our music is being recognized.

Some Kind of Awesome: What's it like touring with Tokyo Police Club and Dinosaur Bones? Have you guys done anything fun or exciting while on tour?

TB: yeah, they're a bunch of great dudes. We've actually spent a lot of time playing hockey before or after shows, and we've also been curling. It's been a pretty Canadian tour [laughs]. But compared to British Columbia, the rest of Canada has been so cold.

Some Kind of Awesome: Over the course of your tour, you've had shows all across Canada, and even a few in the United States. What was it like touring in the States for the first time? And what was the best thing you had to eat while on tour?

TB: Touring in the States is a lot different than in Canada, there's a lot less time between cities and shows [laughs]. There, you're driving for four hours or two hours and you're already in a new city. Here [Canada], you're driving for a lot longer. The people in the States are really nice, too, and you can buy beer at corner stores [laughs]. It's funny, while we've been on tour we've been doing these Indiegestion segments, get it? Indie-gestion. For that we've been filming the things we have eaten while on the road. In Austin, you could get this deep fried, chicken and cheese stuffed avacado.

Some Kind of Awesome: Since we're on the topic of food, what's the best thing you've ever eaten? We're going Food Network on this one.

TB: [Laughs] The best thing I've ever eaten? Probably this pulled pork slider I had in Austin, or Schwartz's Deli in Montreal. Honestly, I could talk for hours and hours about the things I've eaten.

Some Kind of Awesome: How does it feel being back in your hometown of Vancouver? And which venue is your favourite to perform at?

The hometown crowd is amazing, they're always so forgiving and welcoming. The Commodore [Ballroom] is easily my favourite venue to play at. The sound is second to none.

Some Kind of Awesome: Awesome, thanks for your time Tyler, it was great chatting with you.